New chief executive finds QLDC's work 'eye-opening'

Understanding every detail of what the Queenstown Lakes
District Council does and determining the most important issues
are the priorities of new council chief executive Adam Feeley
after his first working week.

Arriving three months into the financial year and towards the
end of the calendar year means the council's annual report
has been finalised but "there is a sense of, 'OK, we need to
get stuff done before Christmas'," he said yesterday.

In his last position, Mr Feeley headed the Serious Fraud
Office and he is now slowly coming to terms with "the sheer
breadth of what the council does".

"It's quite eye-opening when you realise how many things are
being juggled."

Mr Feeley attended the council's general meeting yesterday to
hear council finance, general manager Stewart Burns tell
councillors and staff a $17.3 million surplus had been posted
for the last financial year.

After sitting in the chief executive's seat for a week, Mr
Feeley said he was not in the position to be making
judgements about the council's finances or declaring what he
would like to change about how the council operates.

"Certainly, in the course of a week I can't see anything that
leaps out at me. At this point, it's more a point of having
lots of questions around costs rather than having opinions of
what costs need to be managed."

Out of the office, he has been busy on his bike and has
already ridden most of the Queenstown Cycle Trail.

He is also trying to persuade councillors and council staff
to compete in the corporate section of next year's Godzone
adventure race to support the Starship Foundation.

He has bought a house in Arrowtown and likes the size of the
community.

"Everything is easy - getting to work, shopping, parking ."

"Everyone is so welcoming and again it's the scale of the
place."

Despite recent violent incidents in Queenstown, he is adamant
"in the scheme of things, Queenstown is a really nice, safe
place".